Orange price-hike prompts customer exodus

Hundreds of Orange customers have cancelled their contract because of a loophole in the network’s terms and conditions after it hiked call and data prices.

Orange raised the cost of calls not included in a customer’s plan (over-allowance minutes and calls to 0870 numbers) from 5p per minute to 14.7p per minute.

The network also increased the cost of accessing the internet from mobile phones.

The price rises contravened the contract conditions set out by Orange, giving customers the opportunity to change networks if they were detrimentally affected by the changes.

However, a significant proportion of customers who have attempted to cancel their contract claim they have been wrongly advised by Orange customer services and told they are stuck with their contract, or that they have to return their handset.

The loophole was highlighted by consumer website Bitterwallet, which advised Orange customers on the best way to cancel their contract.

“Contracts are there to protect both parties concerned, not just the bigger of the two,” said Paul Smith, Bitterwallet editor.

“If the terms and conditions allow you to cancel, Orange have no right to prevent you from doing so.”

“It’s important to remember to remain polite at all times,” he added.

“Clearly some operators are rude and misinformed with regards to their own terms and conditions, but they’ll be less than eager to help customers who are equally obnoxious.”

Bitterwallet also advised Virgin Mobile pay-monthly customers that they can cancel their contract following recently announced price rises.